February 24, 2013
, Salem, MO
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Subaru driver, David Higgins, Defeats Mother Nature and Rivals to take Victory at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood
Subaru driver, David Higgins, Defeats Mother Nature and Rivals to take Victory at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood
Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins overcame the mud, snow, and ice that saturated the 2013 Rally in the 100 Acre Wood to take a dominating win in his 2013 Subaru WRX STI rally car. Set in Missouri’s Ozark Foothills, the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood is the second round of the 2013 Rally America National Championship and is regarded as the fastest rally in the USA. However, this year a winter storm blanketed the region in a layer of ice and snow, making conditions treacherous at best. With maximum traction delivered by Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive over the difficult terrain, Higgins drove faultlessly, while his key rivals hit trouble early, to win by nearly nine minutes, and vault to the lead of the Driver’s Championship standings.
Higgins took the rally lead early on the first day of competition when his two key rivals faltered due to driving mistakes and mechanical trouble. Higgins and his co-driver Craig Drew steadily increased their lead throughout the event while driving fast and mistake-free on the difficult road conditions. The 2013 Vermont SportsCar prepared Subaru WRX STI ran trouble free throughout the weekend; Higgins and Drew were fastest on 12 of the event’s 16 stages.
“I started the rally a little slow but upped the pace from stage two and was just trying to keep close to the lead to be ready for an attack on day one’s night stages. As it turned out though our rivals fell into deep trouble before that and from there onwards it was just a case of keeping my focus and driving mistake free,” explained Higgins. “The conditions were very difficult but we had the right car and setup to deal with it.”
The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood was the only Rally America round that Higgins had yet to notch a win on, making victory here that much sweeter. “This was the rally I most wanted to win and the team did a great job reacting to the different conditions to give me the car that I needed to get the job done. This result puts us in a great position to defend our Championship.”
Subaru Rally Team USA will enjoy a short break before heading to Portland, Ore. for round three, the Oregon Trail Rally May 3-4, 2013. Confidence should be high for Higgins and the team for this round, as Higgins has won the Oregon Trail Rally four times thus far in his career, including the last two years in a row.
About Subaru Rally Team USA
Subaru Rally Team USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), PUMA, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, PIAA, Exedy, Race Proven, and MOTUL. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: @srtusa.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.
“Subaru”, “WRX STI”, all model names, and the Subaru logo are registered trademarks of the Subaru subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd, Japan. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.
Higgins took the rally lead early on the first day of competition when his two key rivals faltered due to driving mistakes and mechanical trouble. Higgins and his co-driver Craig Drew steadily increased their lead throughout the event while driving fast and mistake-free on the difficult road conditions. The 2013 Vermont SportsCar prepared Subaru WRX STI ran trouble free throughout the weekend; Higgins and Drew were fastest on 12 of the event’s 16 stages.
“I started the rally a little slow but upped the pace from stage two and was just trying to keep close to the lead to be ready for an attack on day one’s night stages. As it turned out though our rivals fell into deep trouble before that and from there onwards it was just a case of keeping my focus and driving mistake free,” explained Higgins. “The conditions were very difficult but we had the right car and setup to deal with it.”
The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood was the only Rally America round that Higgins had yet to notch a win on, making victory here that much sweeter. “This was the rally I most wanted to win and the team did a great job reacting to the different conditions to give me the car that I needed to get the job done. This result puts us in a great position to defend our Championship.”
Subaru Rally Team USA will enjoy a short break before heading to Portland, Ore. for round three, the Oregon Trail Rally May 3-4, 2013. Confidence should be high for Higgins and the team for this round, as Higgins has won the Oregon Trail Rally four times thus far in his career, including the last two years in a row.
About Subaru Rally Team USA
Subaru Rally Team USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), PUMA, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, PIAA, Exedy, Race Proven, and MOTUL. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: @srtusa.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.
“Subaru”, “WRX STI”, all model names, and the Subaru logo are registered trademarks of the Subaru subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd, Japan. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.
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